Lippman, long recognized as a master of plot and exposition, has been serving up psychologically rich slices of karma for years. Prom Mom [is] one of her best books yet.” — Wall Street Journal
“Prom Mom subverts the tabloid headline of its title into something more surprising, transgressive, and sexy. Laura Lippman is an absolute master of plot and timing, and I would follow her anywhere—even to the prom.” — Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow
"I read this acid-dipped beauty in 2 desperate sittings. Pure James M. Cain noir at its delirious best, it moves so fast and so skillfully, you don't fully grasp what it's really saying (about men, women, desire) until its final stunning pages.” — Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Turnout
"Passionate, provocative, deeply chilling and relentlessly paced, Prom Mom is, for my money, an instant classic. With a cast of characters real enough to leap off the page and haunt your dreams—especially my new hero, Amber Glass. A truly unforgettable read." — Alison Gaylin, USA Today and international bestselling author of The Collective
“The surprises, delivered close to Prom Mom’s final pages, are the kind that might compel you to reread the whole story again, just to find out how Lippman layered this quadrangulate tale with clues and misdirection . . . . and how she managed to make such a classic form feel so of the moment. That formidable skill makes Prom Mom one of Lippman’s most seductively mesmerizing novels, not just an homage to [James] Cain but a powerful successor.” — Los Angeles Times
"Laura Lippman is a seasoned pro at crafting mysteries and crime fiction." — Time
“Prom Mom is all ominous mood and elegant nuance; you don’t know where Lippman is going, but you’ll happily follow.” — The Seattle Times
"Laura Lippman delivers provocative novels about ordinary people caught up in chaos….Crime is central to the plot — these are mysteries, after all — but often it is hiding in the shadows, ready to leap out when least expected. Outstanding.” — Florida Sun-Sentinel
“This exquisitely crafted tale of triangulation and treachery builds slowly to a shocking ending.” — Library Journal (starred review)
"Buzz starts early for any new Lippman book, and this one already has the cicadas in high gear." — Booklist (starred review)
"Gripping... Lippman works up a slow burn, gently teasing out a game of cat and mouse between Joe and Amber that comes into full focus toward the end of the novel. Readers who persevere will reach a devilishly satisfying conclusion." — Publishers Weekly
“A character study of pedestrian evil in the Wegmans-and-Peloton class, fascinating in its heartlessness.” — Kirkus Reviews
"Laura Lippman is one of the best novelists working today, period. Seeing her name on the cover of a book is a guarantee of a highly satisfying reading experience...Laura Lippman is a major writer. If you don’t know her, there’s 25 books waiting for you." — Chicago Tribune
“Lippman is such an incisive writer, slicing to the heart of people’s darker sides….Piercingly insightful.” — Guardian (UK)
“Mesmerizing . . . . I remain haunted by its mordant, rueful wisdom.” — Irish Times
"Laura Lippman’s incredibly layered and tense COVID-era thriller tells multiple stories about its main characters, a man and a woman whose pasts are linked by tragedy and tawdry gossip, and whose current lives are connected by something more powerful: the desire for a second chance." — CrimeReads
“Reading Laura Lippman is addictively satisfying….Prom Mom is another stunning example of her prowess in writing about the complexities of unhealthy relationships in this provocative, gripping novel.” — BookTrib.com
"Well-plotted, well-written, clear-eyed. I never saw the end coming. There's a hell of a one-two punch waiting for you." — Stephen King on Prom Mom
05/01/2023
This gripping thriller from Lippman (Dream Girl) centers on the codependent relationships between the charming Joe Simpson and the women trapped in his orbit. Prom night 1997 at Baltimore’s Towson High School ends in the shocking death of a newborn baby, found in the girls’ restroom near the mother (and Joe’s date), a barely conscious Amber Glass. Though she has no recollection of what happened, Amber is arrested and swiftly convicted of manslaughter. While Amber is in prison, Joe meets and marries Meredith, whom he cheats on regularly. After starting her life over in New Orleans post-prison, Amber decides to return to Baltimore for the first time in more than 20 years to open an art gallery—when she does, she and Joe fall back into a relationship. By then, the Covid-19 pandemic is in full swing, dooming Joe’s hopes for the local shopping center he recently purchased. With Amber’s help, he concocts a scheme to bail himself out before he meets financial ruin, which goes predictably awry. Lippman works up a slow burn, gently teasing out a game of cat and mouse between Joe and Amber that comes into full focus toward the end of the novel. Readers who persevere will reach a devilishly satisfying conclusion. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (July)
★ 07/01/2023
Entitled men and the women who enable them receive the Lippman (Dream Girl) treatment in this novel that moves between the 1990s and the beginning years of COVID. In 1997, the Baltimore press dubbed Amber Glass "Prom Mom" after she gave birth on prom night and allegedly killed the baby. Amber had finagled Joe Simpson, whom she'd been tutoring, into being her date that night, but he ditched her for the girl who'd broken his heart. Amber doesn't remember what happened exactly, but she was convicted and jailed in juvie. She fled Baltimore afterward, but now she's back in her hometown, trying to create a new life as the owner of an outsider-art gallery. She is also trying to stay out of Joe's way—he's happily married and working in real estate—but that proves difficult. Readers will want to yell, wave their arms, and warn all the characters to run, don't walk, away. VERDICT This exquisitely crafted tale of triangulation and treachery builds slowly to a shocking ending. It's a future COVID classic that pairs well with Lippman's long-form essay The Summer of Fall and other love and revenge stories such as those in her 2021 collection Seasonal Work.—Liz French
Narrator Andi Arndt's understated performance of this slow-burn suspense belies the unexpected turns of the narrative. Since she gave birth on the floor of a hotel bathroom as a teenager, Amber Glass has struggled to escape being "Prom Mom." When chance brings her back to Baltimore and into the orbit of Joe, her baby's father, and his high-strung wife, Meredith, the life Amber has fought for starts spinning out of control. Arndt deftly juggles the shifting point of view as it moves among the main characters, leaving no doubt as to who is speaking. She uses intonation and emphasis to build personality for each of these flawed people while subtly ramping up the tension as they converge in a moment of crisis. N.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Narrator Andi Arndt's understated performance of this slow-burn suspense belies the unexpected turns of the narrative. Since she gave birth on the floor of a hotel bathroom as a teenager, Amber Glass has struggled to escape being "Prom Mom." When chance brings her back to Baltimore and into the orbit of Joe, her baby's father, and his high-strung wife, Meredith, the life Amber has fought for starts spinning out of control. Arndt deftly juggles the shifting point of view as it moves among the main characters, leaving no doubt as to who is speaking. She uses intonation and emphasis to build personality for each of these flawed people while subtly ramping up the tension as they converge in a moment of crisis. N.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2023-05-09
Prom Mom and Cad Dad reunite decades after the tabloid crime that blew up their lives.
Amber Glass was never Joe Simpson's girlfriend; she was his tutor in high school, and though he was having sex with her, he would not have been going to the prom with her if his main squeeze hadn't dumped him. She hid her pregnancy until prom night, when she gave birth in a hotel bathroom to a 28-week-old preemie, whom she served time in a juvenile facility for murdering. Decades later, she moves back to their shared hometown of Baltimore and opens an outsider art gallery with her notorious name on the marquee. When they reconnect, as was her intention, Joe is adding her to a full dance card: He's married to his college girlfriend, the beautiful Meredith, now a successful plastic surgeon, and he's sleeping with Jordan Altman, a younger real estate agent from his company. What a mess for poor Joe, who is also hit with major financial troubles when the pandemic spoils his plans to flip an unpromising suburban shopping center. Except, who cares about Joe? Lippman seems to have purposely given the reader no one to root for in this unusual psychological suspense novel in which no crimes are committed or revealed until the final pages. All the characters are described as physically attractive but are unappealing otherwise; the relationships of the three female characters to the soulless, creepy, narcissistic Joe are inexplicable. This gives the book a coldblooded quality, a refusal to sentimentalize victims or to make bad actors into romantic antiheroes. As usual, Lippman creates a convincing portrait of a particular sector of Baltimore, this time well-heeled professionals in the northern part of town, and adds New Orleans to the mix as well, with a king cake and a side order of red beans working as plot points.
A character study of pedestrian evil in the Wegmans-and-Peloton class, fascinating in its heartlessness.
